News

Long Beach Airport opens long-awaited new concourse to passengers

By Karen Robes Meeks Staff Writer

Posted:
12/12/2012 03:38:19 PM PST

Updated:
12/12/2012 05:03:02 PM PST

The new passenger concourse opened today at the Long Beach Airport. The concourse welcomes passengers with outdoor fire pits, plenty of seating, an iPad bar and concessions made up of local merchants. (Brittany Murray / Staff Photographer)

LONG BEACH - The last time Mark Delp flew out of Long Beach Airport, the Orange resident encountered a series of trailers and crowded waiting rooms where he and other travelers gathered before boarding their planes.

Now, Delp, who was there Wednesday to take the first JetBlue flight to Oakland of the day for business, saw a vastly different airport after going through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.

"It's very nice; I like all the seats," Delp said as the financial planner walked past the patio area that includes bright red lounge chairs and a fire pit leading to the 4th Street Vine wine bar.

"Usually you have to sit so close to strangers," he said. "This is nice and spaced out. One of the nicest patios I've ever seen as far as airports go."

Delp was the first of many passengers to officially enter the airport's sleek, new passenger concourse, which was fully operational to ticket holders Wednesday morning.

"It's beautiful, what a change," said Seal Beach resident Rose Zanone, who often flies out of Long Beach to visit family and residents. "It's a great improvement for the Long Beach Airport.

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This is so much nicer than going out of LAX. If the flights are available, absolutely I would choose Long Beach."

It took two years to build the $45 million concourse, which features two terminal buildings, 4,200 square feet of outdoor seating and more than 10,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space for Long Beach merchants. A solar-generating rooftop will offset 13 percent of the facility's demand for power, airport officials said.

The new passenger concourse opened today at the Long Beach Airport. It includes a Polly's Coffee shop. (Brittany Murray / Staff Photographer)

After the last flight took off Tuesday night, airport officials moved the TSA checkpoints and readied them for the next day's business.

Local vendors have been added to the airport, including Polly's Coffee, Sweet Jill's Bakery, 4th Street Vine, George's Greek Cafe and second locations for Long Beach Clothing Co., which is called 562 Experience, and McKenna's on the Bay, whose second restaurant is named McKenna's on the Fly.

The red lounge seats, fire pits, wine bar and garden walkway reflect the resort feel airport officials intended to convey when they started the project.

Rodriguez said the focus was on the customer, from the plush seating to the street prices of the food within the new concourse. A cup of Polly's coffee or a George's gyro Greek salad will cost the same, whether you're at Belmont Shore or at the concourse, Rodriguez said.

"So many airports are so generic and you don't know where you are," he said. "If we had chain stores here, you would get your chain store food, you would eat and then get on a plane. Now, when you eat at George's Greek Cafe, or the Burger Bar or Taco Beach, you say `Oh, my gosh,' you get home and you tell everybody. That's another marketing tool the city has to differentiate ourselves. ... If we can show people what businesses we have here in Long Beach, what a wonderful opportunity."

Five months ahead of schedule and entirely funded through airport revenue, the concourse is among a series of renovation projects under way at the airport, including improvements to the air carrier ramp and the modernization of the airport's historic terminal.

Last year, airport officials opened a new 1,989-space structure and 247-space surface parking area.

For a long time, the community fought any kind of expansion or modernization effort. Neighbors living under the flight path were concerned about its size and how it could affect the quality of life of neighbors.

The Long Beach Parent Teacher Association sued, claiming that the project would lead to more flights and in turn increase noise and pollution, which would impact students and classrooms.

The delay was such an issue that a frustrated JetBlue CEO Dave Barger told an airline industry blogger in 2009 that JetBlue might pull out of Long Beach because of it. The airline has 32 of the airport's 41 daily flights.

With the new concourse now completed, JetBlue officials on Wednesday celebrated with cupcakes, balloons, promotional photo opps and $12 one-way flights to West Coast cities such as Oakland, Seattle and Las Vegas.

"It's a long time in the making but well worth it," Mayor Bob Foster said.

"The biggest comment you get is, `Thank God, it's about time,"' Foster said. "People love using this airport. It's very convenient, but it was not comfortable. It was crowded and there weren't really the kinds of concessions you'd like to have. ... Now it's all here, and it's all Long Beach."